The Hawks could change their starting lineup for Saturday’s Game 3 of their playoff series against the Pacers.
Hawks coach Larry Drew said Friday that he and his staff are considering changes. The Hawks started Jeff Teague, Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Josh Smith and Al Horford in the first two games. When the Hawks played a team with a considerable size advantage in the regular season, Zaza Pachulia would move into the starting lineup. Pachulia is out after surgery to repair a partially torn Achilles. Seven-foot Johan Petro would be the other option.
“We may look to change the lineup a little bit,” Drew said after practice. “(We) haven’t made a full decision yet, but we looked at some things we might look to do for (Saturday’s) game. …
“The first couple of games we played, we played small a lot to utilize our speed and our quickness. Maybe now we may change a little bit.”
Teague leading scorer: Teague leads the Hawks in scoring during the playoffs with an average of 18.5 points per game.
The guard has increased his scoring average in the playoffs from the regular season for three consecutive years. He averaged 14.5 points this season. Last season, Teague averaged 14.0 points in the playoffs, up from his 12.6 in the regular season. In 2010-11, he averaged 11.8 points in the playoffs after averaging only 5.2 points in the season.
Three other starters have averaged double-figures during this playoffs, Smith (15.5), Horford (13.5) and Harris (12.5).
Home streak: The Hawks have won 11 consecutive games at Philips Arena against the Pacers. The last time the Hawks lost at home was Dec. 22, 2006. The average margin of victory has been 10.7 points per game, with eight of the 11 wins by double digits.
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